65 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Tuesday, May 8, 2018
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
One hour of walking, stretching, and strengthening exercises. For a breath of fresh air, take your workouts ...
more >> outdoors. Parks are becoming a logical alternative environment for those who want to add variety to their workouts, or who just don't like the gym. And, it's an affordable way to increase physical activity opportunities, because there's nothing special to build. Exercise with a view, in natural sunlight, with green scenery all around bestows health benefits that can’t be found indoors. Scientific studies have shown that the pleasure of being outdoors for example gives your brain, psyche, and immune system an extra boost. Led by trained professionals, and suitable for all levels. Wear comfortable clothing and bring water.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 am
free, no reservation required
A morning class provided by the Tai Chi Chuan Center and led by teachers and students who train at CK ...
more >> Chu Tai Chi under the direction of Master Hyland Harris.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 am
free, no reservation required
Design, Justice & Zero Waste: Exploring Pathways to a Circular Economy. The goal of the conference is ...
more >> to bring together experts from around the world and a variety of fields to share and showcase innovative designs, advocacy campaigns and scholarly research across this often siloed field. Designers, architects, business representatives and activists will come together to discuss the diverse parts of a circular economy. Featured Speakers: Annie Leonard, Executive Director, Greenpeace USA, activist, proponent of sustainability and critic of consumerism. Leonard has over two decades of experience investigating and explaining the environmental and social impacts of our stuff: where it comes from, how it gets to us, and where it goes after we get rid of it. Her film, The Story of Stuff, blossomed into The Story of Stuff Project, which works to empower people around the globe to fight for a more sustainable and just future. Mathy Stanislaus, Senior Advisor on Accelerating Circular Economy Practices at the World Economic Forum. Previously, Dr. Stanislaus served as Assistant Administrator in the USEPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management, where he led programs around revitalizing communities through the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 am
free, reservation required
A bird walk with NYC Audubon! Explore the diversity of migrating birds that find food and habitat. The ...
more >> walk will be led by Gabriel Willow, an educator from NYC Audubon. Gabriel is an experienced birder and naturalist, and is well-versed in the ecology and history of New York City. He has been leading walks for NYC Audubon for more than ten years, guiding new and experienced birders in all five boroughs and beyond. (212)
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 am
free, no reservation required
This is a 3-hour tour that begins with a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, an icon of New York City for ...
more >> over 125 years, with spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The tour then moves on to a stroll of Brooklyn Heights, America’s and New York City’s first suburb. The tour then explores the neighborhood DUMBO before ending at the Fulton Ferry landing.
New York City, NY; NYC
The 3-hour walking and subway tour covers the Financial District including Wall Street and the World ...
more >> Trade Center, SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown. These are neighborhoods that simply can’t be fully appreciated from a bus. There will be one or two opportunities to sample tasty treats.
New York City, NY; NYC
Kundalini Yoga is also called the Yoga of Awareness. It combines the physical practice of Asanas with ...
more >> Pranayama (breathing) and Meditation/Chanting – it targets the whole body system (nervous system, glands, mental faculties, chakras) to develop awareness and consciousness, strength and flexibility. Everybody is welcome, no previous knowledge of Yoga is necessary. Please bring a Yoga mat and possibly a blanket and a shawl.
New York City, NY; NYC
9:30 am
free, no reservation required
Please bring your own supplies. Pattern books will be provided to peruse and get inspiration.
New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
free, no reservation required
Designed for students who want to refine and enhance their compositional skills and improve their way ...
more >> of seeing, this introduction to photography course covers basic camera handling, composition, light, and subject matter. All classes take place in the park. Please bring your camera or iPhone. Open to all. Instructor: Clint Weldon
New York City, NY; NYC
Strategy board game for two players; checkmate opponent's general (king) to win; Learning, interacting ...
more >> and having fun with Chinese chess.
New York City, NY; NYC
10:30 am
free, no reservation required
A fitness dance party with upbeat Latin music of Salsa, Merengue, Hip-Hop and more. Enthusiastic Instruction ...
more >> creates fun community of dancers who learn new dance steps each week. Bring your friends.
New York City, NY; NYC
10:30 am
free, no reservation required
At the end of the class you’ll learn the basics and beyond. Please bring your own materials.
New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
Linear Composition Ensemble is a performance exploring how to structure compositions and improvisations ...
more >> using melodic lines of horizontal motion. Musicians both compose and perform.
New York City, NY; NYC
11:30 am
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
The Gotham Jazzmen bring their take on Dixieland Jazz. The band features: Ed Bonoff on drums; James Collier ...
more >> on trombone; Lee Lorenz on cornet; Pete Sokolow on piano; Dick Waldburger on bass; Ernie Lumer on clarinet; and Bill Wurtzel on guitar.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles. A naive hustler goes to New York to seek personal fortune ...
more >> but in the process finds himself a new friend. 113 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Test your coordination and dexterity with juggling lessons in the park. All skill levels are welcome ...
more >> to join in the fun. Equipment is provided.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
The keyboard works of Bach offered in 30-minute meditations. Bach at Noon concerts takes place Tuesdays ...
more >> through Fridays, from September 12, 2017 to May 23, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:20 pm
free, no reservation required
12:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Learn about central banking functions that Federal Reserve System performs and see Bank's vault of international ...
more >> monetary gold on bedrock of Manhattan Island, five stories below street level. Learn why Federal Reserve has "Federal" in its name, while it's a private bank, not Federal at all. Tour times: 1:00pm, 2:00pm. This tour takes place Mondays through Fridays, except bank holidays.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Take a mid-day pause to refresh your mind and re-establish your center in the midst of bustling city ...
more >> life. Meditation is a powerful tool to eliminate stress, to heal the body, mind, and brain, and to enhance your personal well-being and positive relationship with the world.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
$10 suggested donation
On this tour, learn about some of the most significant acts of heroism and the people who sacrificed ...
more >> their lives to save others, but we also discover the history of the World Trade Center, starting with the strategies in the 1950s that were put in place to build it, how it was designed, constructed, how it came down, and the new buildings that are redefining the center today.
New York City, NY; NYC
Learn basic ballet steps and experience the joy of dancing in a class that combines ballet and exercise. ...
more >> Wear comfortable clothes and be ready to have fun. Come for the whole month or just drop in. No experience necessary. Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 2 p.m. Consent/release waiver must be signed in order to attend. Limit 18 persons per class. Doors close at 2pm. Late arrivals will not be admitted.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, reservation required
Although world famous, Harlem may be New York's best kept secret with some of the city's best architecture, ...
more >> food, music and people. Harlem's history is also one of the city's most dramatic, having gone through many ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic changes over the past roughly 400 years, which have resulted in a diverse array of places of worship, theaters, homes and eating establishments.
New York City, NY; NYC
Mahjong, the popular game of skill, strategy, and luck, was created in China and has been beloved by ...
more >> Americans since the 1920s. With similarities to rummy card games, mahjong is played using beautiful tiles by groups of four people. Join the fun! Play the strategy game or learn while you play. All are welcome, from novices to experienced players and are welcome to play free of charge.
New York City, NY; NYC
Stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans. A young couple moves ...
more >> in to an apartment only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins to control her life. 137 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
You've seen the iconic skyscrapers, attended a Broadway show, visited Lady Liberty and relaxed in Central ...
more >> Park. Looking for a little more of the Big Apple? Maybe it's time to visit some of Manhattan's oldest and most enchanting historic districts. Take a relaxing stroll through SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown.
New York City, NY; NYC
Explore the southwest of Central Park with Central Park Conservancy tour guides, and see it like never ...
more >> before. From a planned military parade ground to the site commemorating a famous activist for peace, one of the most-visited areas of the Park has some secrets to share with even the most seasoned Park-goer. Highlights of this tour include: Maine Monument, the Children’s District, Sheep Meadow, Tavern on the Green, and Strawberry Fields.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Play the popular strategy game while getting pointers and advice from an expert. Chess improves concentration, ...
more >> problem-solving, and strategic planning – plus it’s fun. For ages 5 and up (adults welcome).
New York City, NY; NYC
3:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Described by the Juilliard critic as "remarkable" and haild as "playing with soulful and powerful insight," ...
more >> Maria Shim is a sought after performer who understands the tradition of proven cello technique.
New York City, NY; NYC
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
During World War II, 1.2 million African-Americans served in America's Armed Forces. Fully 125,000 served ...
more >> overseas. 708 were killed. Among these were The Wereth Eleven. Their story was lost to history. Until now. The Wereth Eleven is an ambitious docudrama based on the true story of eleven African-American soldiers who were ruthlessly murdered by the Nazi SS during the Battle of the Bulge. The film weaves exciting visual effects, never before seen archival footage, and compelling interviews to detail one of the least known atrocities committed during World War II. 60 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Trumpeter Alex Wilborn has been principal cornet with the Southern Stars Symphonic Brass Band for several ...
more >> years.
New York City, NY; NYC
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Test your coordination and dexterity with juggling lessons in the park. All skill levels are welcome ...
more >> to join in the fun. Equipment is provided.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Come and bring a single page of poetry by a known poet with the theme of Poetry and Theft—with copies ...
more >> for others, if you can.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Get together over a deck of cards and enjoy favorites like Monopoly Deal, Rummy, No Thanks, and more. ...
more >> Participants who win a game can enter a raffle to win a valuable prize pack at the end of the Game Social season.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Cellist Yu Yu Liu has worked under the batons of Leonard Slatkin, Semyon Bychkov, and Alan Gilbert in ...
more >> venues such as Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, and Alice Tully Hall. She is currently a student of Fred Sherry and Astrid Schween at The Juilliard School.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Sahaja Meditation is a holistic approach to living in balance. The simple technique gives the experience ...
more >> of inner silence, calm, and contentment. Sahaja Meditation is an inner yoga (connection), meaning no mental or physical effort is required. Whatever the issue facing us—frustration, anger, anxiety, bad habits, loneliness—Sahaja Meditation awakens a vibrant energy within each of us that empowers us to achieve our genuine self-expression and fulfillment .
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
David Miliband on the roots of today’s unprecedented refugee crisis—and the role each of us can ...
more >> play in solving it. This conversation will be recorded for Displaced, a new podcast from IRC and Vox Media. Alex Aleinikoff—Director of the Zolberg Institute and former Deputy High Commissioner in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees—will be hosting.
New York City, NY; NYC
Starring Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Toshirô Mifune. A heinous crime and its aftermath are recalled ...
more >> from differing points of view. 90 min. Languages Japanese.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Twentieth-century avant-garde scholar Barbara Moore discusses early performance art of the 1960s with ...
more >> Printed Matter’s Max Schumann. Often political in nature, movements such as Fluxus, Happenings, and Intermedia blurred the line between art and life and developed into what came to be known as performance art. Founded in 1963, the legendary Something Else Press was known for publishing texts and artwork by Fluxus artists such as Dick Ray Johnson, Alison Knowles, and Allan Kaprow. Moore, who was Something Else’s first editor, joins Schumann to talk about the lasting importance of these movements, and the groundwork they laid for the conceptual and performance art of the decades that followed. Moore is the director of the archive of her husband, the late photographer Peter Moore, which includes hundreds of thousands of images chronicling the development of Fluxus, Happenings, Judson Dance Theater, Multimedia, and Intermedia. Schumann is the executive director of Printed Matter, which is dedicated to the dissemination, understanding, and appreciation of artists' books.
New York City, NY; NYC
Rachel Kushner is the author of The Mars Room and The Flamethrowers, a finalist for the National Book ...
more >> Award and a New York Times Top Ten Book of 2013. Her first novel, Telex from Cuba was also a finalist for the National Book Award. She lives in Los Angeles.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Veteran Donald Calliste leads exercises with varied tempos that send your body into fat-burning overdrive ...
more >> even after your workout is done. Please bring a mat.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Ramie Targoff’s Renaissance Woman tells of the most remarkable woman of the Italian Renaissance: Vittoria ...
more >> Colonna, Marchesa of Pescara. Vittoria has long been celebrated by scholars of Michelangelo as the artist’s best friend—the two of them exchanged beautiful letters, poems, and works of art that bear witness to their intimacy—but she also had close ties to Charles V, Pope Clement VII and Pope Paul III, Pietro Bembo, Baldassare Castiglione, Pietro Aretino, Queen Marguerite de Navarre, Reginald Pole, and Isabella d’Este, among others.
New York City, NY; NYC
How can we define the elusive quality of "Italian-ness" in music? This discussion group gives voice and ...
more >> vocabulary to our intuitions about Italian music, both instrumental and vocal. You'll listen to music from the sublime Palestrina, pinnacle of the Italian Renaissance; through Monteverdi, Lulli, Cherubini, Puccini, Respighi and more; to John Corigliano and our modern world, naming Italian characteristics and asking whether they stand the test of time. What Makes It Italian is a music listening and discussion group that is open to everyone. Attendance at all meetings, which take place on Tuesdays from April 10 to May 15, is encouraged, as the discussions are cumulative. Led by Gina Crusco, who also guides listening at the Riverdale Y, formerly music instructor at The New School and director of Underworld Productions Opera. Tonight: Respighi's Pines of Rome: Nationalism and Internationalism
New York City, NY; NYC
Stretch, breathe, and find your inner peace at evening yoga classes. Bring a mat and join an instructor ...
more >> from Sweet Water Dance and Yoga to strengthen your muscles while taking in views of the sunset on water.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Take a romantic walk along the park and a chance to take a closer look at the stars. Peer through high-powered ...
more >> telescopes provided by the knowledgeable members of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York to see rare celestial sights. In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:45 pm
free, no reservation required
It’s the dead of winter in Winnipeg and Wendy Reimer, a thirty-year-old trans woman, feels like her ...
more >> life is frozen in place. When her grandmother passes away, Wendy receives an unexpected phone call from a distant family friend with a startling secret: Wendy’s grandfather—a devout Mennonite farmer—might have been transgender himself. Author Casey Plett also wrote the short story collection A Safe Girl to Love and co-edited of the anthology Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Garrard Conley's memoir describes his harrowing experience of gay conversion therapy and how this appalling ...
more >> "cure" continues to be practiced. A raw and compassionate story about identity and love.
New York City, NY; NYC
Matthew Thurber will speak about his forthcoming book, a paranoiac-critical examination of the art world ...
more >> seen through the eyes of four graduates of The Cooper Union. As each student attempts to reconcile their ideals with the realities of capitalism, love, alien invasion, anarchist pigs, and sex robots, they nd themselves careening toward madness, extremism, death, or becoming Matthew Barney’s stunt double.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
This introductory meditation class was featured as a New York Magazine top pick. Room is set up with ...
more >> both meditation floor mats and traditional western chairs with back support. No special clothing or equipment is necessary.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
$10 suggested donation
Long before she earned accolades for her genre-defining memoirs, Mary Karr was winning poetry prizes. ...
more >> Now she returns with a collection of visceral, hilarious poems. Her brazen verse calls us out of our psychic swamplands and into that hard-won awareness of the divine, hiding in the small moments that make us human. In a single poem she can generate tears, horror, empathy, laughter, and peace. Restrictions may apply. Call store for details.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
How has Iran, the Middle East’s second largest country, become the primary target of American antagonism? ...
more >> In the first general-audience book on the subject, Medea Benjamin examines the relationship between Iran and the U.S., recounting Iran’s history from the pre-colonial period to its emergence as the one nation Democrats and Republicans unite in denouncing. Benjamin draws upon her firsthand experiences with Iranian politicians and activists to provide a deeper understanding of the complexities of Iranian society.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Rather than see love as a natural form of affection, Love As Human Freedom sees love as a practice that ...
more >> changes over time through which new social realities are brought into being. Love brings about, and helps us to explain, immense social-historical shifts—from the rise of feminism and the emergence of bourgeois family life, to the struggles for abortion rights and birth control and the erosion of a gender-based division of labor. Drawing on Hegel, Paul A. Kottman argues that love generates and explains expanded possibilities for freely lived lives.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Award-winning poetry by established and emerging poets throughout the summer. Featuring the poets: Katha ...
more >> Pollitt Marilyn Nelson Jim Moore
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Obie Award-winning director Robert O’Hara (Bootycandy, The Brother/Sister Plays) brings a warring King ...
more >> and his band of brothers to NYC. Insulted by the regent of France, Britain’s King Henry V decides to wage war and claim the throne across the Channel. But Henry’s charm only distracts the soldiers for so long before the dire stakes of their task calls into question the King’s true motives and direction. Resonating from across the centuries—wherever there may be a kingdom for a stage, and royalty to act—Shakespeare’s drama about invasion, ego and leadership delves into history’s thorniest questions: What makes a person worthy of wearing the crown, and what do they owe the people they lead?
New York City, NY; NYC
A renaissance is taking place on the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Since the terrorist attacks of ...
more >> September 11th 2001, a concerted effort has been undertaken to redevelop this part of the city, with the redevelopment of the World Trade Center and the construction of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. And from twilight into the night is the right time to pay a visit to this part of New York City. From the Memorial to the Woolworth Building, City Hall to the Brooklyn Bridge, some of the your most memorable experiences in the city await you.
New York City, NY; NYC
Editor's Pick
Filmmakers don’t always get it right when they put jazz into their films, but when they do, it should ...
more >> be celebrated. You’ll see Benny Goodman with his quartet and big band in Hollywood Hotel (1937), Nat King Cole in The Blue Gardenia (1953), Duke Ellington in Murder at the Vanities (1934), and much more.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham helps us understand the present moment in American politics ...
more >> and life by looking back at critical times in our history when hope overcame division and fear.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Praised for his “great combination of passion, grace, and virtuosity,” pianist Christian De Luca ...
more >> was the overall prize and Audience Award winner of the 2014 International Competition for Piano and Orchestra, Città di Cantù, in the “Romantic Concerti” category, after performing Liszt's Totentanz at the Teatro Sociale in Como, accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra Mihail Jora of Bacau. He has been performing in prestigious concert halls, including Yamaha Artist Service Piano Salon in New York, Teatro Sociale in Como, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, the Academic Hall of the Pontifical Institute Sacred Music in Rome and more.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Violinist Ji Won Song has performed on stages worldwide, delighting audiences with her energetic and ...
more >> engaging performances that express her refined perspectives on melody, color and harmony, as well as her deep passion for her instrument. She won first prize and the special prize in the Isang Yun International Violin Competition in Tongyeong, Korea, one of that nation’s top instrumental competitions. Among the renowned international orchestras with which Ms. Song has soloed are The Philadelphia Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
free, no reservation required